S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD's Illegal Juvenile Fingerprint Database

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD's Illegal Juvenile Fingerprint Database [NEW YORK, NY, 11/13/2019] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, condemned the NYPD for illegally maintaining a juvenile fingerprint database.  The NYPD’s retention of the fingerprints is a violation of NY FCA § 354.1, which requires the NYPD to destroy juveniles’ fingerprints except in very limited situations.   SEE: The NYPD Kept an Illegal Database of Juvenile Fingerprints for Years https://theintercept.com/2019/11/13/nypd-juvenile-illegal-fingerprint-database/   NY FCA § 354.1 https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/family-court-act/fct-sect-354-1.html “This is just the latest example of how the NYPD is breaking the law to track children of color,” said Albert Cahn, Executive Director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project at the Urban Justice Center. “Not only does the NYPD’s program violate children’s legal rights, it’s just bad policing. The family court system is designed to recognize that juvenile offenses are different from adult crimes, but the NYPD continues to disregard the protections our lawmakers have put into place. Using facial recognition, DNA databases, and, now, illegal fingerprint archives, the NYPD is transforming biometric surveillance into a high-tech form of stop-and-frisk.”   The New York privacy group is a lead proponent of the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, a city council bill that would require privacy protections for all NYPD surveillance programs and databases. The bill, which is sponsored by a majority of the City Council and endorsed by the New York Times, is awaiting a hearing before the Council’s Public Safety Committee.   SEE: POST Act https://www.stopspying.org/post-act   San Francisco Banned Facial Recognition. New York Isn’t Even Close. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/opinion/nypd-post-act-surveillance.html S.T.O.P. previously condemned the NYPD for including children’s faces in its facial recognition database, noting unique privacy risks and the technology’s higher error rate for children. The privacy group also condemned the NYPD’s juvenile DNA database, welcoming a recent court ruling that gave juveniles greater power to expunge their DNA records.   SEE: S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD Facial Recognition Database for Children https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/8/2/stop-condemns-nypd-facial-recognition-database-for-children   S.T.O.P. Welcomes NY Court Ruling Allowing Teen Defendants To Expunge DNA Record https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/5/28/stop-welcomes-ny-court-ruling-allowing-teen-defendants-to-expunge-dna-record The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   - END – CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn;   Copyright © 2019 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.